


Little Talks

by Skaboom



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Anxiety, Cuddling, M/M, Pillow Talk, bed sharing, good guy/bad guy talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:28:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24940852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skaboom/pseuds/Skaboom
Summary: Theo and Liam have a late night conversation about their relationship, and Theo's anxiety that he is undeserving of both Liam, and his place in the pack.
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Comments: 16
Kudos: 131
Collections: My Bookmark





	Little Talks

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ell_002](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ell_002/gifts).



> This is a VERY belated birthday fic for my friend, Ell_002, who asked for 3 AM Conversations Thiam!

"Hey Liam?"

"Mmmm?" Liam grumbles, turning in the bed so that he's facing Theo, though his eyes remain closed. 

"Are you awake?" Theo's voice is soft, almost tentative. 

"I guess." Slowly, Liam opens one eye, then the other. "Time is it?"

It's still dark in the room, and Liam has to blink the sleep from his eyes a few times.

"I don't know, like three something?" Theo whispers. 

As Liam's eyes begin to adjust, he looks at Theo. The moonlight streaming in through the window reveals that Theo's grey eyes are glistening, and instantly, Liam feels more awake. 

"Whoa, hey, what's going on?" Liam asks softly. 

"I just..." Theo shrugs. 

"Did you have another nightmare?"

Theo shakes his head, but doesn't take his eyes off of Liam. 

"Then what is it, babe?" Liam reaches out, placing a hand on Theo's cheek. His body shifts closer to Theo's beneath the blankets, and he presses a soft kiss to the other’'s jaw. 

"I'm not good enough for you." Theo's voice is soft, barely audible, even in the already silent room. 

"What? What are you talking about? Theo that's crazy, of course you're good enough for me! Where is this coming from?"

"I don't know, it's always been there I guess. You're this... _ good _ guy, Liam. You're caring, and you're brave, and you're loyal, and you're...you just  _ do _ the right thing. You deserve someone who's like that, too."

"You  _ are _ like that." 

Liam is more awake now, and determined to prove to his boyfriend - or whatever the hell it is they are - that he cares about him. 

It's been a few months now, since Theo's been sneaking into Liam's bedroom at night. It started off with just a place to sleep. Liam learned that Theo was living in his car, and offered up his bedroom floor. However, late night talks and their already pre-existing chemistry had led to more, and it wasn't long before Theo was sharing Liam's bed, pressed against him, trading kisses as easily as they traded words. 

Their entire relationship took place between 10 PM and sunrise, and every morning, Theo was gone by the time Liam's alarm went off. He didn't understand how he never felt the other man getting up, leaving, but without fail, every morning Liam woke to an empty bed. At first, Liam had convinced himself during the day that it was nothing, that it wouldn't happen again, but every night, like clockwork, just about 10 PM, Theo would climb through his window, and it would all start again. 

Aside from the whole living in his car thing, Theo had started out all confidence and bravado, but when Liam held him through a nightmare for the first time, things shifted. Walls broke down between them, and feelings crept in. 

Still, even with Theo's vulnerabilities out in the open, Liam has never heard him talk like this before. 

"I'm not like that." Theo gulps, and between that, and the glistening eyes, Liam can tell that the other man is trying not to cry. 

"Yes, Theo, you  _ are _ ," Liam says firmly. "Things might have started out...not great for you, or maybe that's an understatement, but when you came back, when the tie between you and the Dread Doctors was severed, you did the right thing."

"Not...it's not the same, there were so many bad things-"

"Stop." Liam presses his palm harder against Theo's cheek, his jaw. "Don't do this to yourself. You're a good person, Theo. It doesn't matter where you start, okay? It's where you finish, and when push came to shove, what did you do?"

"I..." Theo shrugs again. 

"You hauled me into the elevator and put your own life in danger," Liam reminds him. "You drove to the hospital to help me fight when it seemed like a lost cause. When it really counted, Theo, you were there. I would not be alive if not for you, and a lot of other people wouldn't be either."

"But you know how it's going to go, Liam. If...we ever try to tell them about us? You know what they're all going to say, what they're going to think."

"No, Theo, I don't."

"Oh come on, Li, they're gonna say that I'm not good enough for you! Most of them still don't trust me, they're never going to, they're-"

" _ I _ trust you." Liam locks eyes with Theo's. "I trust you, Theo. I'm the one you're with, okay? And the others? They'll come around. You're one of the good guys now. I won't lie, it might take some of them awhile to see that, but I'm not really planning on going anywhere." 

"No?"

"No."

A gentle smile crosses Liam's lips as he moves still closer to Theo in the bed. 

"I didn't see you coming, Theo, and when I first met you, I absolutely _ hated _ you, but that wasn't you. You aren't the guy that tried to tear the pack apart, you aren't the guy who tried to get me to kill Scott, okay? You're the guy that stopped me from killing Nolan, from killing Gabe. You're the guy that saved my life multiple times. You're the guy that keeps me grounded." Liam gently brushes his fingertips over Theo's jaw. "You're my guy."

"I'm your guy?" A ghost of a smile appears on Theo's face. 

"Yeah." Liam nods. "You're my guy."

"I like that, the way that sounds." Theo reaches out, carding his fingers through Liam's long hair. "It makes me feel good, makes me feel worth something."

"You are worth something."

"I think you're the first person that's ever seen that. I mean, to everyone else, I was just a means to an end."

"Not to me." Liam leans in, kissing Theo softly. "You're so much more than that, Theo. And it's okay if you're still figuring out all of your pieces, and trying to put yourself together. You've been through a lot. I think..." Liam pauses. "I think you're still learning who you are, babe, and that's okay."

Theo closes his eyes, and a few tears slip out from his shut eyelids. Liam reaches down and wipes them away with the pad of his thumb.

"I've never had something good. At least not that I didn't ruin." Theo's voice threatens to break as he speaks, his eyes still squeezed shut as he tries to keep back more tears.

"You're not ruining this," Liam says firmly. "I'm not going to let you."

"I don't think it works that way."

"Yeah it does." Liam leans in, pressing a soft kiss to Theo's face, just below his eye. He can taste the saltiness of the sparse tears, but he doesn't care. "It works however we say it works." Liam pauses. "The important thing is, babe, that it  _ works _ ."

"It works?" Theo opens his eyes, and they're full of questioning, hesitation, and apprehension. 

"It works." Liam nods, and kisses Theo again, this time on the lips. 

"Liam?" Theo says, gazing at the other man. 

"Yeah, Theo?"

"I..." 

Theo gulps, pausing, and Liam can hear Theo's heart racing. It sounds like it's about to beat right out of his chest, but Liam doesn't say anything. He waits, giving Theo time to gather his thoughts, to figure out what he wants to say, and how he's going to say it. While he waits, they lie there, looking into each other's eyes. Theo's are still wet from his tears, but Liam's are clear and kind, if not a bit tired. 

"I think I'm falling in love with you, Liam," Theo finally admits. 

"Yeah?" Liam smiles. 

"Yeah. I mean, I don't know, because this feeling, I've never felt it, but it's-"

"Shh, babe." Liam shuts Theo up by kissing him again. "Don't overthink it, okay?"

"I don't know how not to."

"Just start here." Liam reaches down, placing his hand on Theo's chest, just above his heart. "What does your heart say, Theo?"

Theo gulps again, trying to keep back more tears. His heart has always been a sore spot, because it is really his, anyways? But what it feels right now, he's pretty sure, are entirely  _ his _ feelings. 

"It says I'm falling in love with you," he whispers quietly. 

"Then that's a good place to start."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Liam nods. "'Cause I'm falling in love with you, too."

"You are?" Theo's eyes search Liam's face, as though they're trying to find a lie there, but he listens to Liam's heartbeat, and it's steady, true. Honest. 

Liam just smiles and nods, leaning in to kiss him again. 

"Well," Theo says softly. "I guess that's a good start."

"I think it is." 

Liam pulls Theo close and flips him around. He fits his arms around Theo, and drops a gentle kiss on Theo's bare shoulder as his back presses against Liam's front. Liam's hand rests on Theo's chest, just above his still-beating heart. 

"I'll protect this," Liam says softly. "So you can get some sleep."

Theo lets out a soft sigh, and ducks his head enough to kiss the top of Liam's hand as it rests, steady on his heart. 

"And who knows?" Liam smiles as he closes his eyes, preparing to fall asleep again. "Maybe when I wake up in the morning, you'll still be here."

"I...I was afraid if I was ever here in the morning, we'd have to talk about this, and it would be real, and then maybe then you would realize you didn't want it."

"It _ is _ real," Liam says softly. "And I  _ do _ want it. I want to go to sleep with you in my arms, and I want to wake up next to you." Liam pauses. " _ That  _ is a good place to start."

"Yeah." Theo's breathing starts to even out. "Goodnight, Liam."

"Goodnight, babe." 

Liam closes his eyes, and falls asleep to the rhythm of Theo's heartbeat. Theo lies awake for a few more minutes, taking in the way this feels. He closes his own eyes, and lets himself breathe in the feeling of Liam's arms around him, the security that buds inside of him just knowing Liam's hand is there, guarding his heart. He lets himself take in the deeper meaning there, that Liam cares about him, that Liam is starting to love him back. 

And it's easier, Theo thinks as he falls asleep, to live when he doesn't have to be alone.


End file.
